Father Vern was raised in the town of Adams, MA, in Berkshire County. He attended Notre Dame Grammar School and St. Joseph's High school, graduating in 1966. Entering the seminary in 1966 he received his A.A. Degree from St. Thomas Seminary, Bloomfield, CT in 1969 and his B.A. Degree from Our Lady of the Angels Seminary (Niagara University) in 1971 and an M. Div. Degree from St. John's Seminary in Boston in 1975. He was ordained on May 24, 1975, in his home church of Notre Dame in Adams, MA. Following ordination he was assigned to St. Mary's in Westfield, MA. He joined the faculty of Cathedral High School, Springfield, in 1979. In 1982, he attended the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, and was awarded an M.A. in Liturgical Studies in August of 1983. Returning to the Diocese, he became Director of the Office of Worship, Director of Music, and Diocesan Master of Ceremonies until he was named Pastor of Blessed Sacrament, Northampton, in April of 1992. On January 1, 1996, he assumed the pastorate of St. Francis of Assisi, Belchertown. Father is a Knight of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem, a member of the Diocesan Presbyteral Council, and an Episcopal Vicar.